This past weekend saw one of the most severe sandstorms ever to have hit the island of Lanzarote. A «calima» is a frequent weather occurrence on the island and it is basically when sand from the Sahara desert is blown over and the blue sky turns a hazy grey colour. It normally lasts a couple of days and can also bring warmer temperatures.
This weekend brought possibly the worst calima that many can remember. The skies turned red with thick sand and visibility was so poor that for a few hours the Canarian airspace closed and many flights had to be either diverted or in some cases cancelled.
People with problems such as asthma suffered and many people were seen wearing masks. There was a general «apocalyptic» feeling and it was quite surreal.
Needless to say, by Monday things were greatly improved and on the Tuesday the Lanzarote blue skies returned and it was business as usual for everyone. The only thing left from the weekend sandstorm was a thick layer of red sand everywhere that means a lot of extra work for our villa managers and pool technicians to clean up.